Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Supposed evidence of a
conspiracy to topple the Venezuelan government was revealed today in a press conference
by the Political High Command of the Revolution, led by Libertador Mayor Jorge
Rodríguez.

Rodríguez showed what
he claims are a series of e-mails sent by opposition leader Maria Corina
Machado to a constitutional lawyer Gustavo Tarre and that were intercepted by
the government.

The e-mails reveal, according
to Rodríguez, the existence of “a group devoted to the end of peace and
linked to an attempt of magnicido [to
kill the head of state]. For this purpose they have gathered funds: to
assassinate Nicolás Maduro. At the same time they are carrying out a coup d’état,
which fortunately has been deactivated.”

Besides Maduro, the
plot would also include the assassination of several other government officials:
Diosdado Cabello, Tareck el Aissami and Miguel Rodríguez Torres.

The group plotting to
commit magnicidio and the “evolving”
coup d’état includes: Machado, Pedro Mario Burelli, Diego Arrias, Henrique
Salas Romer, Eligio Cedeño, and the current United States Ambassador to
Colombia Kevin Whitaker.

“I will show a
scientific investigation, (…) that shows how some politicians are constantly
plotting a coup d’état [reincidentes en golpe
de Estado], even some who are deputies of the National Assembly, and some business
people linked to Miami too. [They] are plotting to try to buy members of the
Armed Forces. (…) They are preparing to attack the institutions of the
Fatherland in order to generate a general chaos in the country. (…) Justice
will be made with this malevolent plan. Enough of imperialist coups! Enough!”
Maduro declared.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

President
Nicolás Maduro announced today that soon he will finally show of a coup d’état
he claims was attempted against his government by “business people and
politicians [politiqueros] of the
right.”

“In the next few days
I will speak out about some of the issues that are ready, about how the bourgeoisie
planned to directly grab power [dar un
zarpazo] in the past days, during the guarimbas
[barricades],” said Maduro.

He also explained why
the evidence, despite several
announcements by government officials, has not yet been shown: “We have
remained silent [calladitos] because
we want to be on a sure footing. Venezuela, be ready! I will show proofs,
testimonies, and I will show them directly to the Venezuelan people.”

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Venezuelan government
officials and public media have
recently announced that the “on-going coup d’état,” they claim has been
attempted since February this year, has been finally defeated. In the official rhetoric
this should be understood to mean that the guarimba
[barricades] street protests of the last months are decreasing.

President Maduro
however announced yesterday that this is not necessarily the case, and that the
“on-going” character of the coup should be understood to mean that it is truly
constant and continuous.

According to Maduro
opposition leaders have recently met to plan the “collapse” of the country by
the month of June. He says he had access to information about this meeting
through “internal informants” he has inside the opposition ranks.

“They say that June
will be the month of collapse, that in June the people will rise against the
Government, that June is the month of the coup d’état, that June will see the
end of the Revolution. (…) The crazy coup mongers will try to promote violence
in June,” Maduro
warned.

He
also insisted on the claims previously
made by Interior Minister Miguel Rodríguez Torres that drug use is driving
the street protests: “Some perverse coup mongers and guarimberos have been hiring criminal bands, and they are paying
them with drugs and other means so that they can act violently and go out and
kill. In some cases they are well known political and television figures. They
want to drive the country into chaos. I denounce it. We have been constantly
denouncing it.”

Maduro also said that
he had ordered Rodriguez
Torres to show the evidence of the government’s claims, because “there can
be no softness or impunity with these coup mongers, these guarimberos, no matter what their last names are, no matter what
their position is. Whoever is against the Constitution and the peace of the
country will have to face justice. No one can blackmail me. No power will force
me to give in [torcer el brazo].”